The driver's side rear door on my 2002 Ram 1500 is stuck shut. I was working on the electrics in it and pulled the latch mechanism off (and apart) without thinking. I thought I had it all back together correctly and shut the door without testing it (again not thinking). Now the door is stuck shut. All the rods are attached, but the latch is not operating. Any tips on getting it open again?

 

Take the door panel off and fix it. You will have to work from inside the truck obviously.

 

Therein lies the problem. I can get the door panel off, but all the bolts that hold the latch mechanism on as well as the bolts that hold the whole mechanism together are only accessible if the door is opened. To further complicate the situation, the geometry of the door/truck cab bars me from getting a screwdriver anywhere near the actual latch, so I can't even manually spring the latch. Basically, I have tried everything I can think of (including the old fashioned boot method) and nothing has worked, so I am just wanting to make sure I am not missing something before I attempt taking the door off the hinge and trying to pop the latch that way.

 

If you can get the door panel off then you can manually work the rods to release the latch to allow the door to open. Dont try to tell my that little door latch motor is stronger than you are.

Pull the latch, open the door, take out the latch and replace if needed. We have DIYs in our FAQs on how to change the latch if you need them

 

Ha! Thanks for the vote of confidence weedahoe. I can pull the latch with the rods, it just doesn't do anything. I've even unhooked the rods and pulled the latch mechanism itslef to make sure it was actually moving, and it still doesn't do anything. It is acting as if it is locked, which I have checked and double checked, or as if the child safety is on, which I have also checked and double checked.

 

Ha! Thanks for the vote of confidence weedahoe. I can pull the latch with the rods, it just doesn't do anything. I've even unhooked the rods and pulled the latch mechanism itslef to make sure it was actually moving, and it still doesn't do anything. It is acting as if it is locked, which I have checked and double checked, or as if the child safety is on, which I have also checked and double checked.

 

Maybe you just need a second set of eyes to look at it. Sometimes that's all it takes to figure a really simple problem out. I am not saying your situation is simple, just that maybe if someone else looked at it they may be able to shed some light on the situation.

 

So this is the back rear door of a QC?

So to clarify, you can get the door skin off, you can get to the door actuating rods and manually pull the latch assembly and it will not release, right? And overall, you cannot get the door to open at all, right?

Hmm.....IDK what else other than the obvious that the latch assembly might be broke??? Ive never heard or seen one fail like yours though. The electrical part of them is know to fail but not the mechanical part.